By week’s end, all 32 NFL teams will have begun training
camp. While there are questions surrounding all of them heading into the
upcoming season, here’s a look at one key individual per club who might prove
most pivotal to its fortunes in 2018.
AFC NORTH
STEELERS ILB JON BOSTIC: The journeyman inherits
the unenviable job of standing in for Ryan Shazier. Pittsburgh allowed 28
points per game after their Pro Bowler went down in Week 13 last season, and
the defense needs Bostic to step up if this group is going to pose a serious
challenge in the AFC.
RAVENS QB JOE FLACCO: No one in Baltimore can
say enough good things right now about the former Super Bowl MVP, and everyone
in Charm City will be thrilled if Flacco recaptures that level of performance.
If he doesn’t? The Lamar Jackson era will begin sooner than expected, and the
John Harbaugh era might wrap.
BENGALS RB JOE MIXON: He wants you to
believe he’s the next Le’Veon Bell, but that dubious comparison
won’t gain credence until Mixon can do better than 3.5 yards per
carry. Granted, he should see far more daylight behind this year’s line in his
bid to reward a franchise that took a second-round risk on him in 2017.
BROWNS QB TYROD TAYLOR: In three seasons as
Buffalo’s starter, he was picked off just 16 times. Cleveland passers were
responsible for 28 interceptions ... in 2017 alone. With a steady hand under
center, the Browns — there’s plenty of talent on the roster despite their 1-31
record since 2016 — should make a quantum leap. However, if Taylor struggles,
Baker Mayfield will likely have to play sooner than expected, which could send
Hue Jackson back into Lake Erie.
AFC EAST
BILLS RB LESEAN MCCOY: Under normal
circumstances, the six-time Pro Bowler is the engine who drives Buffalo’s
offense. But can “Shady” churn out 1,500 yards from scrimmage behind a revamped
line and highly inexperienced group of quarterbacks now that he’s 30 — an age
so often the death knell to tailbacks’ careers — while proving very serious
allegations from his ex are false?
DOLPHINS QB RYAN TANNEHILL: He hasn’t played
since Dec. 11, 2016. Miami reached the playoffs that season, and Tannehill won
eight of 13 starts to help the cause while posting career bests in completion
rate (67.1 percent) and passer rating (93.5). Still, that’s a modest level of
success for a player who’s been in the league since 2012 and now has to knock
the rust off his surgically repaired knee. If he can’t, the offense’s fortunes
will apparently lie with Brock Osweiler or David Fales.
PATRIOTS LEFT TACKLE: Tom Brady has basically
had two guys, Matt Light and then Nate Solder, watching his back for nearly all
of his 17 seasons as a starter. But who will man the blind side in 2018? During
the draft, New England acquired veteran Trent Brown from the 49ers. He
currently resides atop the depth chart, but can a 6-8, 380-pounder who’s spent
most of his career on the right side be trusted to protect the face of the NFL
from the league’s best speed rushers? Isaiah Wynn was the club’s top pick of
the draft, but the former Georgia star has questions of his own given his
6-2, 310-pound frame seems better suited to guard. Marcus Cannon, LaAdrian
Waddle or Ulrick John could also figure as options.
JETS CB TRUMAINE JOHNSON: He rivals Darrelle Revis as
a businessman. After getting franchised two years in a row by the Rams, Johnson
became New York’s richest player by signing a five-year, $72.5 million
contract. But he lacks Revis’ bona fides, never earning Pro Bowl honors in six
seasons and coming off a campaign where he ranked 68th, per ProFootballFocus,
at his position. He must solidify a defense that will likely have to carry a
team light on offensive playmakers.
AFC SOUTH
TEXANS QB DESHAUN WATSON: A fairly obvious
choice, but he was an MVP candidate before injury prematurely ended his rookie
season. As a refresher, Houston averaged 34.7 points in Watson’s six starts yet
just 13 points per game for the balance of the season. His knee better be ready
to go since it appears a suspect line could force him to rely heavily on his
mobility in 2018.
COLTS QB ANDREW LUCK: Pretty simple — Indianapolis is
43-27 with him since 2012 and 10-16 without. Luck returns to a roster light on
experience and with questionable talent in key areas. His rebuilt right
shoulder better be ready for the load it’s going to bear.
JAGUARS WR MARQISE LEE: We know you’re worried about
Blake Bortles, but who is he throwing to? With 119 catches over the past two
years, Lee has finally started to fulfill the expectations that come with being
a second-round pick. He’ll need to do a lot more in 2018 to keep teams from
doubling down against Leonard Fournette and the league’s top-ranked
ground attack from last season.
TITANS WR COREY DAVIS: On the glass half-empty side,
the fifth overall pick of the 2017 draft managed just 34 catches in a rookie
season hindered by a bad hamstring. Yet Davis showed up to haul in his first
two career TD passes in the playoff loss at New England. Now he needs to take
some of the focus off aging TE Delanie Walker and maybe even blossom into the
first wide receiver to gain 1,000 yards for Marcus Mariota.
AFC WEST
BRONCOS CB BRADLEY ROBY: Good player. But the 2014
first round pick will have to be a better one as he adjusts from nickel duties
into the starting lineup and takes on far more accomplished receivers in a
secondary that no longer has Aqib Talib’s swagger.
CHIEFS QB PATRICK MAHOMES: No pressure, kid. All you
need to do is be better than Alex Smith, who guided this club to the playoffs
four times during his five-year tenure. That probably means very few mistakes,
despite your limited NFL experience and gun slinging tendencies, while
potentially covering for a defense that seems vulnerable.
CHARGERS K CALEB STURGIS: He drilled 85 percent of
his field goal tries during three seasons with Philadelphia, the kind of
production that could have averted the team’s 0-4 start in 2017 and landed them
where they belonged — in the postseason. Sturgis first has to outlast former
second-round Bucs flameout Roberto Aguayo.
RAIDERS LB TAHIR WHITEHEAD: With NaVorro Bowman gone,
Whitehead is tasked with stabilizing a defense that ranked 23rd in 2017. Steady
if unspectacular during six years with Detroit, Whitehead has to prove he’s not
a liability on passing downs.
NFC EAST
COWBOYS DE DEMARCUS LAWRENCE: He and David
Irving combined for 21½ of Dallas’ 38 sacks last season, or nearly 57 percent.
Now on the franchise tag, Lawrence hopes to cash in next year but will have to
maintain his production while Irving is suspended for four weeks. With just
nine sacks in his three previous seasons combined, Lawrence — known as “Tank” —
must also prove he wasn’t a flash in the pan.
GIANTS RB SAQUON BARKLEY: Is any rookie under more
pressure to deliver immediately? The No. 2 overall pick seems to have the
talent, cool and drive to pony up quickly, and doing so should take a
significant burden off Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr. and a defense in
transition. Big Blue hasn’t had a back rush for even 900 yards since 2012.
EAGLES QB CARSON WENTZ: When will he be ready? Will
he be ready? Will he look like the MVP front-runner he was in 2017 before
his knee collapsed in Week 14? If Nick Foles has to play — and then plays well
— how do Wentz and coach Doug Pederson react? Perhaps no situation league wide
will garner more summer scrutiny.
REDSKINS DL JONATHAN ALLEN: Last year’s
first-rounder was playing reasonably well before a Lisfranc injury curtailed
his season — one that saw Washington rank last against the run while
surrendering the sixth-most points in the NFL. Allen and this year’s top
selection, fellow Crimson Tide stud Daron Payne, must have a remedying effect.
NFC NORTH
BEARS WR ALLEN ROBINSON: He had 1,400 yards and an
Neligh 14 TD grabs in 2015. Since then, he has 900 yards, six TDs and a torn
ACL that cost him 15 games last year. Chicago signed him to be the big-time
receiver it hasn’t had since Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery departed.
Robinson could be the essential factor between the lines in second-year QB Mitchell
Trubisky’s development.
LIONS RB LEGARRETTE BLOUNT: He joins his third
team in three years ... and, FWIW, the last two hoisted Lombardi Trophies. Hard
to expect him to go 3-for-3 in Motown, but Blount should certainly spark a
running game that’s finished last twice in the past three seasons (and 30th in
2016). Maybe he’ll also help new Coach Matt Patricia weave “The Patriot Way”
into this locker room.
PACKERS DC MIKE PETTINE: Pro Bowler Mike
Daniels says his new coordinator has brought a “controlled fury”
to the defense, which stagnated under longtime coordinator
Dom Capers in recent years. Reclamation project Mo Wilkerson and rookie
DBs Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson should help further Pettine’s cause.
VIKINGS QB KIRK COUSINS: No getting around it — No. 8
is the primary difference between this year’s club and the 2017 edition that
cruised to the NFC North title and within a game of playing the Super Bowl
on its home field. Amid astronomic expectations — borne of his $84 million
contract and new supporting cast — Cousins needs to get up to speed quickly in
a division where Aaron Rodgers will seek to reclaim the throne.
NFC SOUTH
FALCONS OC STEVE SARKISIAN: Little changed from
the 2016 Super Bowl offense to last year’s version except the guy calling the
plays. After scoring the most points in the league, the Falcons tumbled to 15th
in 2017. First-round slot WR Calvin Ridley joins the mix, but it’s up to the
coordinator to deploy the pieces more effectively, and that includes better
leveraging Julio Jones in the red zone.
PANTHERS LB SHAQ THOMPSON: Big opportunity for
the 2015 first-rounder to make an impression while one of Carolina’s defensive
captains, Thomas Davis, serves a four-game suspension. Carolina might have to
lean on its defense early while Cam Newton and Co. acclimate to new OC
Norv Turner’s playbook.
SAINTS LB DEMARIO DAVIS: Despite inking a three-year,
$24 million deal, his move to New Orleans received little fanfare. But Davis is
a sure tackler (league-high 97 solo stops in 2017) and the kind of alpha male
who could move this defense up a rung or two.
BUCCANEERS DE JASON PIERRE-PAUL: Tampa Bay made
a lot of moves this offseason, maybe none as significant as adding JPP to a
pass rush that collected a league-worst 22 sacks in 2017. Even more so than
their division rivals in Charlotte, Tampa Bay will have to rely on its defense
amid a brutal opening schedule (Saints, Eagles, Steelers) that coincides with
Jameis Winston’s suspension.
NFC WEST
CARDINALS RB DAVID JOHNSON: Hard to forget he
missed virtually all of last season, yet many don’t remember Arizona finished
8-8 without its best player. If Johnson can again pile up 2,000 total yards,
Sam Bradford and/or Josh Rosen and last year’s sixth-ranked defense could feed
into a dark-horseplay off push.
RAMS DT NDAMUKONG SUH: With Aaron Donald
theoretically liberating him from the double teams he’s commanded throughout
his career, Suh could be a force to behold as he looks to parlay a one-year
contract into one more massive payday in 2019.
49ERS RB JERICK MCKINNON: San Francisco minted him
like a top-five back even though he has fewer touches over the past two seasons
(403) than Le’Veon Bell had in 2017 (406). Now McKinnon is charged with
spearheading the backfield’s crucial role in Kyle Shanahan’s offense while
reducing the freight on Jimmy Garoppolo.
SEAHAWKS LB BOBBY WAGNER: He has to be the man
on a new-look defense — immediately if Earl Thomas’ absence becomes permanent.
Regardless, Wagner will call the plays and needs to rally the new troops into
the kind of frothing ferocity that made the Legion of Boom so effective.
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